Rice Flour

About

Rice flour is finely milled rice. This flour is mainly used in Asian cuisine to make noodles, desserts, and sweets. As a thickener, it can also be found as an ingredient in gravies, custards, and sauces. Those who are gluten-intolerant can turn to rice flour as a substitute to wheat flour.

Physical Description

Rice flour may be made from either white rice or brown rice. To make the flour, the husk of rice or paddy is removed and raw rice is obtained. The raw rice is then ground to form rice powder, also known as rice flour. Rice flour is a particularly good substitute for wheat flour, which causes irritation in the digestive systems of those who are gluten-intolerant. Rice flour is also used as a thickening agent in recipes that are refrigerated or frozen since it inhibits liquid separation.

Colors: white to creamy white powder, which is relatively free from specks.

Tasting Notes

Flavors: bland, typical rice flavor with no rancid or off flavors.

Mouthfeel: It is observed the fried or roasted food using rice flour show more crisp than wheat sorghum or any other flours

Food complements: Many dishes are made from rice flour, Including rice noodles and desserts like japanese mochi and filipino cascaron. rice flour is used in making general tso's chicken[2] neer dosa, Golibaje (mangalore bajji), And rotti. the flour is mixed with flour of wheat, Millet, And other cereals to make manni, A kind of baby food.[citation needed] sometimes cut dried fruits or dried vegetables are added for flavour and more nutrients. this is commonly used in the districts of dakshina kannada, Udupi of karnataka, India. it is a regular ingredient in bangladeshi cuisine and is used in many rotis and desserts such as shondesh and bhapa phitha (steamed rice cakes).

Wine complements: Sake or japanese rice wine is made with brewed rice, Water and malt. this japanese wine complements the cuisine

Beverage complements: Japanese beverages include ume – an alcoholic beverage made with japanese plums and shochu – a distilled spirit made with sweet potatoes, Rice and sugar cane. typical japanese sweets are made with rice, Sugar and red azuki beans. yokan, Higashi and manju are served as desserts. chawanmushi is steamed egg custard.

Substitutes: Wheat flour, Quinoa flour

Selecting and Buying

Choosing: Plain flour refers to a relatively low-protein white wheat flour that has no particular attributes. Because of this it can also be of a poor or variable quality, as it isn’t required to meet any general industry criteria. One technical director of a large milling company told me the believed much of the plain flour sold was rubbish; my view is that there is always a characteristic in any flour that can be used in a good way, and the trick is to identify it. I tend to go for a branded plain flour or larger supermarket own-label (not the value range) as these larger companies usually set specific in-house criteria and put their suppliers through a few hoops to meet them.

Buying: Rice is available prepackaged as well as in bulk containers. If purchasing brown rice in a packaged container, check to see if there is a "use-by" date on the package since brown rice, owing to its natural oils, has the potential to become rancid if kept too long.

Procuring: On the basis of mean grain yield, rice crops produce more food energy and protein supply per hectare than wheat and maize. Hence, rice can support more people per unit of land than the two other staples (Lu and Chang 1980). It is, therefore, not surprising to find a close relationship in human history between an expansion in rice cultivation and a rapid rise in population growth (Chang 1987).

As a human food, rice continues to gain popularity in many parts of the world where other coarse cereals, such as maize, sorghum and millet, or tubers and roots like potatoes, yams, and cassava have traditionally dominated. For example, of all the world’s regions, Africa has had the sharpest rise in rice consumption during the last few decades.

Preparation and Use

Plain flour refers to a relatively low-protein white wheat flour that has no particular attributes. Because of this it can also be of a poor or variable quality, as it isn’t required to meet any general industry criteria. One technical director of a large milling company told me the believed much of the plain flour sold was rubbish; my view is that there is always a characteristic in any flour that can be used in a good way, and the trick is to identify it. I tend to go for a branded plain flour or larger supermarket own-label (not the value range) as these larger companies usually set specific in-house criteria and put their suppliers through a few hoops to meet them.

Cleaning: To prevent them from sticking, wash medium grain and round rice (like Arborio) under cool running water before cooking.

Conserving and Storing

Most types of flour keep well in a sealed container in a cool, dry, and dark location. The original paper packaging used for many types of flour is fine for long term storage as long as the package has not been opened. Once open, the shelf life decreases. Many types of flour are now marketed in resealable plastic bags that increase shelf life.

The refrigerator is a very good storage area for flour, but the use of a sealed container is even more important to prevent the flour from absorbing moisture as well as odors and flavors from other foods stored in the refrigerator. The freezer compartment can be used for long-term storage, but when using a sealed container or a freezer bag, make sure it is full to eliminate as much air as possible. Most types of flour can also be tightly wrapped for freezer storage, but wrapping is often an awkward method for storing large quantities. Wrap the flour tightly in plastic followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Avoid refrigerating or freezing flour in its original paper packaging because paper is porous and the flour may absorb moisture and odors, however if the flour has not been opened, the paper package can be stored in the refrigerator of freezer if the package is tightly wrapped with plastic.

Flour milled from whole grains does not keep as long as highly refined flour because the germ portion of the whole grain can cause the flour to become rancid over time. Flour that does not look or smell good should not be used. It is best to buy smaller quantities of flour if you are finding it necessary to continually discard the flour due to spoilage.

Social/Political

Rice was first domesticated in the region of the Yangtze River valley.[12][13] Morphological studies of rice phytoliths from the Diaotonghuan archaeological site clearly show the transition from the collection of wild rice to the cultivation of domesticated rice. The large number of wild rice phytoliths at the Diaotonghuan level dating from 12,000-11,000 BP indicates that wild rice collection was part of the local means of subsistence. Changes in the morphology of Diaotonghuan phytoliths dating from 10,000-8,000 BP show that rice had by this time been domesticated.[14] Soon afterwards the two major varieties of indica and Japonica rice were being grown in Central China.[13] In the late 3rd millennium bc there is a rapid expansion of rice cultivation into mainland Southeast Asia and westwards across India and Pakistan.[13]

The earliest remains of cultivated rice in India have been found in the north and west and date from around 2000 BC. Perennial wild rices still grow in Assam and Nepal. It seems to have appeared around 1400 BC in southern India after its domestication in the northern plains[citation needed]. It then spread to all the fertile alluvial plains watered by rivers. Cultivation and cooking methods are thought to have spread to the west rapidly and by medieval times, southern Europe saw the introduction of rice as a hearty grain.

Rice is first mentioned in the Yajur Veda (c. 1500-800 BC) and then is frequently referred to in Sanskrit texts[citation needed]. In India there is a saying that grains of rice should be like two brothers, close but not stuck together[citation needed]. Rice is often directly associated with prosperity and fertility, hence there is the custom of throwing rice at newlyweds[15].

History: Everyone knows that rice is an ancient food, but only recently have we discovered just how ancient it is. Rice was believed to have been first cultivated in China around 6,000 years ago, but recent archaeological discoveries have found primitive rice seeds and ancient farm tools dating back about 9,000 years.

For the majority of its long history, rice was a staple only in Asia. Not until Arab travelers introduced rice into ancient Greece, and Alexander the Great brought it to India, did rice find its way to other corners of the world. Subsequently, the Moors brought rice to Spain in the 8th century during their conquests, while the Crusaders were responsible for bringing rice to France. Rice was introduced into South America in the 17th century by the Spanish during their colonization of this continent.

The majority of the world's rice is grown in Asia, where it plays an incredibly important role in their food culture. Thailand, Vietnam and China are the three largest exporters of rice.